Stop All the Clocks
by CharmHex01
Summary: Draco and Hermione had made peace long ago, just after the war, but five years later, their friendship may take an unexpected turn, when Draco admits something. Something that perhaps he should've admitted long ago.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **A/N: Hi everyone! Here's the first chapter of a brand new story. Tell me what you think!**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its Universe belongs to J.K. Rowling. I am not J.K. Rowling. Figure it out for yourselves.**

 **Oh and also, while we're at this disclaiming stuff, the title, _Stop All the Clocks_ is from the poem, _Stop All the Clocks_ , also known as _Funeral Blues,_ by W.H. Auden. Although this poem was kind of meant to mock the grief everyone felt for the death of someone they didn't even know, I think it's quite a nice title. Anyways, here it is.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **CharmHex01**

* * *

Hermione was generally quite happy with her life. She had worked out her relationship with Ron, which ended in the decision that they were made to be the very best of friends, nothing more, and nothing less. And she even had several close friends, whom she trusted completely.

But, when it came to romantic relationships, Hermione was far from happy with her life. Five years after the war, she still could not seem to find the man of her dreams, her Prince Charming. Perhaps she simply wasn't supposed to have a romantic life. Maybe God or Merlin or whatever high and mighty worked the world had decided that Hermione Jean Granger was to never find her soul mate. Either that, or they had forgotten to plan one for her.

Or perhaps she simply lacked any romantic appeal whatsoever.

And now that Harry and Ginny were expecting their first child in their perfect marriage, Hermione was feeling more saddened than ever.

It didn't help that even Ron, someone who she herself had declared possessed an emotional range of a teaspoon, was engaged. And she couldn't even reason that it was to a silly witch like Lavender Brown.

No, Ron had to go and land himself a nice catch. Katie Bell was a perfectly respectable and capable witch, not at all unlikeable.

If even Ronald Weasley could find love, then there must be something Hermione Granger was doing wrong. But she was Hermione Granger, and she simply couldn't be wrong, could she? What a paradox.

But then, why couldn't she find love? She had dated countless wizards and Muggles alike. Perhaps, she conceded, perhaps she was doing something very wrong indeed.

And this was how her beloved friend and dear roommate found her, pondering her lack of success in the field of love.

"Hermione?"

"Draco! You're back. Oh, Draco! What am I doing wrong?"

Her roommate, used to his friend's dulcet thoughts about love by now, knew what she was on about.

And as always, he encouraged her, "Perhaps you just aren't looking in the right places."

Hermione scowled at him, "That's what you said last time as well. Fat lot of use."

Draco shrugged. It was true she wasn't looking in the right place. But she would never believe him if he told her where the right place to look was.

"Oh, and Draco?"

"Hm?"

"I got the invitations for Ron's wedding today. It's going to be in May, so two months from now."

"Sure, sure. Do we need to find a date?"

Hermione frowned. "If you want. But _I_ have already found myself one." By the end, Hermione's frown had morphed into a proud beam

"Well, I probably won't then. No need to fuss myself out over a Weasel's wedding."

"Draco!"

"Mm?" he answered with fake innocence.

"He's your friend. He doesn't call you Ferret anymore, so I think it's highly immature of you to be calling him Weasel. Doesn't that mean you're less mature than Ron?"

Draco scowled, "No. It just means I have more wit."

He stalked off, headed for his room in their spacious flat. He plopped himself onto his bed, and looked outside, staring at the beautiful view, but not really seeing.

Hermione didn't know how much it affected him. Every date she boasted about. She was completely oblivious to the weapon she held, and every day it seemed she would scratch some more of his heart away. Little by little, flake by flake. Sometimes the flakes were bigger than normal. But every day there would be flakes of his heart lying somewhere else in his body.

And he had no one to blame but himself.

Every time she mentioned another person she hoped to be able to create a lasting romantic relationship with, he would agree and support her.

But secretly wishing it to fail.

And so far, whatever merciful fate-runner there was had been kind to him. But he doubted they would be so merciful for much longer. After all, who was he to interrupt their plans of fate?

A delighted squeal jolted him out of his thoughts.

"Draco, Draco, my darling! It's been so long since I saw you last, too long!"

Surely a week wasn't that long, he thought.

His mother stood in his doorway, arriving for their weekly dinner with Hermione. If she wasn't away on another date.

"Hi, Mother. It's not been that long. Don't be so melodramatic."

Hermione appeared behind his mother, "Well I certainly know where you get your melodramatic tendencies from, Draco."

"Nonsense, Hermione."

Hermione chuckled and retreated to the kitchen, where she was preparing a meal for the three of them.

"Mother, let's go to the living room."

He left his room and followed his mother to the living room, where they could hear Hermione's efforts in the kitchen. It was her first time cooking a meal for his mother, and he was sceptical at her cooking abilities. He had never tasted her food before, probably because she only cooked when he was not present.

Today, however, she had eagerly volunteered to take over in the kitchen.

Draco was wary, but she had pleaded until he had caved at last. He just hoped her concoctions would be edible.

Or perhaps he was just underestimating the skill of Hermione Granger again.

"Draco, why is Hermione making the food today?" Narcissa questioned.

Draco turned to his mother and shrugged helplessly, "She practically forced me to let her cook. I've never tasted her cooking before."

"Oh, well, I'm sure it'll taste wonderful."

"For everyone's sake, I hope you're right, Mother."

"I always am, dear."

"I can think of plenty of times when you've been far from right, Mother."

Narcissa stiffened visibly, "You would do well to understand the circumstances better, Draco."

"Circumstances? You followed Father like a blind puppy!"

"That is enough, Draco! I came here for a nice dinner, not an argument over something that is long past."

"Just because it is long past, doesn't mean it loses its power in the future."

"Well, then Draco, it is up to you shape your own future now."

He let out a frustrated growl, "Mother, you're missing the point! Why is it up to me to correct you mistakes and father's mistakes of the past?"

"Draco, I - "

"That's enough! Narcissa, Draco. Dinner's ready." Hermione interrupted sternly.

* * *

 **A/N: So how did you like it? I love reviews (hint hint).**

 **Do you find the chapter length too short? I'm trying to keep it more consistent in this story, and I'm thinking of around 1000+ words per chapter, but I read a forum and most people said the ideal length was around 2000. So do you think I should lengthen my chapters?**

 **~CharmHex01**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **A/N: I'm back with the next chapter of the story! Thanks the reviewers from last time, I appreciated the feedback.**

 **Please review to tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

 **And to a guest reviewer: Thank you for taking the time and effort to make a review! I will try and make my chapters longer than, around 1500-2000 words probably. Thanks for the positive feedback about Hermione searching, instead of just giving up. For Draco being so snappy towards his mum about the war, I would say he has a lot of issues. I'll try explaining Draco's feelings at the beginning of this chapter.**

 **Also, thanks to spam3, sayza and AutumnRose12452 for following or favourite-ing the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, I would be famous. But I'm not famous. In other words, I am not J.K. Rowling, and the whole Harry Potter universe belongs to her.**

 **I'll let you enjoy the story now.**

 **CharmHex01**

* * *

It was nearly dawn, yet Draco lay wide awake in a tumble of blankets and sheets.

He regretted his attitude towards his mother, but he had not been in the best mood, and even normally, he found it difficult to suppress his bitter emotions regarding the outcomes of the war.

Or rather, the effect it had on any potential relationship he could have with Hermione.

He couldn't help but think that Hermione would be able to view him as a solution, rather than a confidant, to her relationship issues if he hadn't been involved the way he had been in that Second Wizarding War.

There was always the possibility it had nothing to do with the events of the war. But then, what else could it be? Draco struggled to grasp any other reason.

And the war had left him scarred. He may not have been filled with goodness during the war, but he knew that he didn't want to what was forced upon him. Sure, he had avoided murdering Dumbledore, but Voldemort's following fury had stomped out any will he had left to defy his orders.

He had thought his mother cared, if not his father, but all she did was encourage him to obey her husband's master.

To Draco, it felt like his own mother had encouraged him to agree to allow his soul to be ripped apart, uncaring of the aftermaths which would follow.

It had been five years since the war. Perhaps it was time to move on. Time to forgive. It was such a Gryffindor thing to do, such a _Hermione_ thing to do. And maybe he should listen to them.

Forgive and forget, they preached. Forgive and forget. He played around with the meaning of those simple words.

Was it possible that he could forget without forgiving first? But how could he forget if he was still so bitter towards his mother?

He would have to learn to forgive, and then forget.

Yesterday's dinner had been awkward, the tension from Narcissa and Draco's argument tangible in the atmosphere.

Shame really, Draco thought, Hermione's cooking had definitely exceeded expectations. Maybe he should let her cook more in the future.

He could see the pink clouds outside his window, signalling another sunrise. Sighing, he rolled to the edge of the bed, and stood up, grabbing a shirt to help against the chilly air.

From the kitchen, he heard light footsteps coming from Hermione's room, and placed her food on the table, before calling out, "Food's on the table. I'm going now!"

"Bye!" came Hermione's acknowledgement.

He popped back to his room to change into his Healer robes, and apparated out the flat.

Healing was something he had grown to love, and he had decided to take up St Mungo's offer when they sent him a letter expressing an interest in his Magical abilities.

After being a trainee Healer for several years, the hospital finally upgraded him to a full Healer last year, in the spell-damage ward. He was also proud to be one of the best Healers at the hospital, despite his relatively young age.

Normally, he would apparate or Floo straight to St Mungo's, but today he had plenty of time in his hands, so he found himself in the Leaky Cauldron.

Absent-mindedly, he wandered to the back of the pub, tapping his wand on the required bricks. It was quite early in the morning, and Diagon Alley was lacking its usual hustle and bustle, a few sleepy wizards and witches scattered here and there.

After the war, Diagon Alley had been restored with donations from the members of the Wizarding World, though it still bore faded marks of war.

Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour had been replaced by simple, Ice Cream Parlour, and was run by Florean Fortescue's closest relative, whoever that was.

This early in the morning, around half the shops were closed, and the other half were run by owners who looked bored out of their minds, with the exception of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. Ron and George Weasley could be seen having copious amounts of fun, testing out their newest products on each other.

With nowhere else he particularly wanted to go, where he would most likely be faced by grumpy sales people, he headed for the bright and cheerful establishment which had survived through the war. Not without harm though.

The death of his twin and co-founder had left George Weasley devastated, barely functioning at all for a whole year after the Battle of Hogwarts.

On the anniversary of the Battle, George had reopened the shop, finally coming to terms with the fact that, although he was not physically present anymore, Fred would have wanted to see what they had spent so much investing in succeed.

Draco stepped into the shop.

And nearly had a heart attack.

The moment his foot landed inside the joke shop, a fist came pummelling at him at a rapid speed, stopping mere millimetres away from his face.

Scowling, he walked over to the brothers, who were laughing with unrestrained mirth.

"Draco, nice to see you! I see you've just experienced the newest addition to our shop," provided Ron as a greeting.

"It changes every time, so far, it's been a clown for ickle Ronnikins here, and a banshee for Harry who dropped in last night."

"I should've known better than to walk into a _joke_ shop carelessly." Draco mumbled.

George grinned, "Didn't quite catch that. Now, what are you here for? I mean, we're very honoured you would wake up at such early hours just to visit us, but we were just testing out some products."

Draco rolled his eyes, looking at his watch. It was still a tad too early… but better early than late, right?

"Well, I'm going now. Bye!"

"Oh, come on, Draco! You haven't even said hi yet. Would you like to help test out our products?"

"Really, I don't want to bother you guys. I'll leave you to your testing, bye!"

Draco hastily made his way out of the shop, eager to avoid any other practical pranks it may contain, and apparated to St Mungo's.

"Oh, Healer Malfoy! Thank goodness you're early today. We have a patient suffering from an unidentified curse, and you're the best we've got right now. The other healers couldn't do much. He currently seems quite stable, mentally and physically, but he has bouts of insanity. He's in Number Eight right now, you know where it is?"

"Yes, is there another Healer waiting for me there?"

"Healer Marsden should be keeping a watch on him right now. Oh, I almost forgot, here's his file. He's called Launcelot Stanton, aged forty-two."

"Ok. I'll just be going now then."

"Wait – Healer Malfoy. His whole family was killed by Death Eaters. So ha make not take kindly to being treated by you, but you're the only chance he has at this point. The next Healer who has enough skill comes in two hours, and given the unknown nature of the curse, we really can't afford to wait that long – not to mention the hour he spent here before you came."

Draco sighed wearily, he was used to this by now, but it still hurt. Another reason to resent his parents. But he had promised himself that he would try and forgive them, and personally, he thought that forgiveness was long overdue. His mother had deeply regretted her actions during the war, and had shown in through her actions after the war.

But it was hard, and every day it seemed he was reminded of what his parents' upbringing and beliefs resulted in.

"Thanks for the warning, Michelle. I'm sure I can handle it. I'll get going now. See you!"

The new Welcome Witch, who most certainly suited her role much better than the previous one, smiled and returned to her work.

When he arrived at the hospital room, Healer Marsden jumped to her feet and greeted him.

"I've checked him dozens of times, but I just can't figure out what's wrong with him, or how to heal him."

Before Draco could even his mouth to reply, a pained shout came from the bed where Launcelot was being held. Thinking something was wrong, both he and Healer Marsden rushed over.

"St Mungo's has gone mad! What is this Death Eater doing here? He's probably poisoning everyone he treats, ripping more families apart! Can't you see it? Are you all blind? Hold him and throw him into Azkaban! I refuse to be treated by a Death Eater! And you," At this point of his tirade, his eyes focused on Draco, "You! Do you think I'd fall for your trick like so many others have done? I will not be victim as you carry out You-Know-Who's last orders!"

Other patients around the ward had started staring, while Draco remained completely silent, accepting what the man had to say.

Finally, Healer Marsden spoke up, "Be reasonable Mr Stanton, Healer Malfoy here is the best we have at the moment, and he's healed countless other people, saved lives of countl-"

"Don't feed me such lies! He's killed countless of people too, that snivelling Death Eater!"

"Mr Stanton. You will be treated by Healer Malfoy, and if it comes to it, I will subdue you so that he can treat you." Healer Marsden left no room for argument, and gestured for Draco to start working, mouthing a small 'sorry'.

Draco shook his head, it was not her fault. But he approached Mr Stanton, and started working on him, painfully aware of the loathing stare fixed upon him the whole time from the treated patient.

* * *

 **A/N: Any questions? Let me know! Do you feel that Draco's lack of response is too unrealistic? What do you think of Mr Stanton's outburst? I'll answer any questions, and I appreciate any comments or feedback, so leave your thoughts with me in the review section!**

 **I made this chapter a bit longer, and I'm not talking about the longer author notes, the actual chapter without the author notes is longer than the previous one too.**

 **Also, I kind of write the story as I go. I have a rough outline of where I want to take things, but it's only a general direction. So that means, if you leave a review and tell me, for example, you want the next chapter to be about blah blah, I can probably make that happen, as long as it still fits in with the rough plot.**

 **So any ideas you may have, leave a review and I'll be willing to take it and let you lead a bit of the story.**

 **CharmHex01**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 **A/N: I'm sorry about the slow updates, but here's the new chapter.**

 **Thanks to Aralie Panda, aderyn-roisin, Arquan, ca803, Girl from beyond, dancerengland, and Rocky181 for reviewing, favourite-ing, or following. It's really heart-warming to see support.**

 **So please, please, please, for all readers, leave a review and tell me what you think.**

 **Disclaimer: All characters, settings, and stuff that you can recognise are from Harry Potter, which belongs to J.K. Rowling. Not me. Do you think J.K. Rowling has a secret fanfiction account where she writes stories about how SHE thinks HER OWN books should go in the future? I would love to read them, but point is… I am not J.K. Rowling, and thus, the Harry Potter universe does not belong to me.**

 **Now that we've cleared that up (in case any of you actually thought it was J.K. Rowling, I doubt it though), let's proceed with the story.**

 **CharmHex01**

* * *

Hermione landed neatly on her feet inside the Ministry of Magic, where she worked under the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She was grateful that after Kingsley became Minister of Magic, he had gotten rid of the flushing-down-the-toilet-ungracefully - as Hermione like to call it - method of entering the headquarters, and had replaced it with the older, though much more favourable, method of Apparating into the Atrium, now new and improved with the security feature of only being able to Apparate in using an approved wand.

Which would've helped had such measures been in place back in fifth year when we had an unfortunate encounter with Death Eaters within this very building.

The war had left the Ministry Headquarters with unattractive features. After all, it had been designed by Voldemort and one could definitely provide a strong argument that he did not have such appealing taste in anything really.

The reparation following the war had included replacing the disgusting Magic is Might statue with a far more delightful feature, which Hermione viewed as the new and improved Fountain of Magical Brethren, although it was officially called a ridiculously long name, something along the lines of the Fountain of the Phoenix and its Magical Brethren and Tribute to the deceased in the Wizarding Wars. Or at least that was what it essentially meant and was.

It had all the magical creatures and humans placed on an even ground, and the names of those who passed away in the wars against Voldemort magically engraved on the figures, depending on which the name belonged to, forming intricate details on the statues.

All quite lovely really, apart from the fact that it was extremely detailed, which meant that there were also an extremely large number of names over it. The magical population had almost halved, and many experiencing what Muggles would call, 'survivors guilt'.

Hermione headed to the lifts, forgoing her usual exercise of walking up the stairs, and waited for it to arrive at Level 2.

Despite her disdain of the Ministry back in her Hogwarts days, she had found herself comfortable dedicating her career in making a change in the sadly abysmal laws of the Wizarding World. Two Wizarding wars in the time frame of fifteen years did nothing to help the reputation the Ministry had gained itself in recent years.

The words, "hopeless", "incompetent", and various other insulting terms floated around quite often when holding a conversation about the Ministry.

She had been quite happy where she was for a few years. But recently, she found herself becoming restless. She was satisfied with her impact on the way things ran in the Wizarding World, but she felt as though her brain had been lulled in hibernation mode, and she longed for something more stimulating.

So today, she would be starting her first day as an Auror under the Investigation Department. Five years after the war, and there were still a few Death Eaters wandering about. Most had been captured following the Battle of Hogwarts, but a few less loyal, though arguably more cunning ones, had escaped before Voldemort had been defeated by the Boy Who Lived.

Her new office was opposite to Harry's, who was now the Deputy Head of the Aurors Division and on his way to becoming Head when Robards retired. Carved onto a plaque hanging on the door, read-

 _Hermione Granger  
Aurors Division  
Investigation Department_

Hermione grinned and entered the office, realising that all her belongings had been magically transferred to her new workplace.

Looking up from her first investigation, she wondered who had knocked on the door. She had only been in the room for five minutes, for Merlin's sake!

Before she even had a chance to respond with a "come in", someone barged into her office and plonked themselves right onto the chair on the other side of her desk.

Hermione was about to give the person a lecture on manners, when she saw who it was. A certain someone with hair as atrocious as her own, a silly grin plastered on his face, for reason unknown to Hermione.

"Harry! Being my best friend does not give you the right to barge into my office whenever you wish!"

He responded by rolling his eyes, "I knocked. That's an improvement from last time."

"Yes, but I wou-"

"How are you, Hermione?" Harry cut her off, earning himself a scowl from the woman seated across from him.

"Wonderful."

"Are you enjoying your new job?"

"Yes."

"And once again, Hermione Granger, Brightest Witch of Her Age, astounds all with her eloquence," Harry commented.

"Perhaps I would be more eloquent if you absorbed all the lectures on manners I've taught you and Ron."

A ridiculous pout graced Harry's features, "You've hurt me Hermione. I've come all this way to visit you and make sure you've settled in nicely, and all you've done is lecture me on my manners."

Hermione allowed herself to chuckle at Harry's antics. "Your office is hardly far away, Harry. But otherwise, thanks for your overwhelming concern. I'm doing great. It's what I've been searching for. How's Ginny going?"

At the mention of his wife, Harry's face lit up, "She's doing great. Do you want to come over for dinner at Grimmauld tomorrow? I've invited Ron as well, he's bringing Katie. You can bring someone if you want, tell Draco to come too."

"Sure, Harry. I'll just Floo over at the normal time."

Standing up and straightening his robes, Harry turned to Hermione and with a wave and smile bid her goodbye.

Hermione smiled to herself, and continued with her work.

* * *

"Draco!" Hermione called out when she Apparated into their shared flat.

She rolled her eyes when she saw him stumble out of his room, donned in lime-green Healer robes. It seemed that Draco had fallen asleep before he had the chance to take a shower or change. Hermione fought the urge to give him a lecture about laziness, because really, she could understand how he felt.

In fact, she herself wanted nothing more than to collapse onto her cosy bed with a nice, thick book, and a cup of tea. But she had a date tonight, and while she was couldn't deny the small teenager part of her the giddiness of a first date, the practical side of her wondered why on earth she had decided that a first date straight after her first day of a new job would be a good idea.

Draco had walked into the kitchen by now, and was grabbing food from the fridge, (for when they had become flatmates Hermione had introduced him to the wonders of Muggle technology), throwing them carelessly onto the countertop in a messy pile of vegetables, meat, and fruits.

"You don't have to make that much tonight, I'm going out."

Draco turned to look at her for a moment, then at the pile of food he had been scavenging from the fridge.

"Is it with who you're bringing to Weasel's wedding?" He began to sort through the pile, shoving ingredients back into the fridge with as much care as he had been throwing them out with.

Hermione smiled at him, "Yes, I hope so. If the date goes well, I suppose."

Nodding, he grabbed a pan from the cupboard and muttered a heating spell with his wand. "Are you going now?"

She turned to look at the large clock in the living room, gasping as she realised that she had very little time to prepare, and make a stunning first impression on the wizard Ginny had claimed would be her 'perfect match'.

Hearing her gasp, Draco chuckled, "The never-late Hermione Granger about to be late?"

Scowling deeply, Hermione dumped her bag by the door and ran to her room, not bothering to answer him. At least she was an organised person, and had decided on her clothes two days before. All she had to do now was tame her hair somewhat, and add a touch of make-up. Of course she could make it, she assured herself. After all, Hermione Granger had never been late to anything yet, and tonight would be no different.

* * *

Hermione heard footsteps behind her, faster and faster, as though the person was trying to catch up to her. A rich, male voice called her name behind her, and she turned to face whoever it was with a bright smile.

"Miss Granger?"

Hermione nodded, "That's me. Are you Mr Dewin?" She assessed the man who stood in front of her. He was fit and lean, but not overly muscular, and she was eye-level with his shoulder.

The man nodded enthusiastically, and Hermione's eyes flitted upwards to examine his face. It was definitely a very nice face, she thought, with a defined jawline and enchanting blue eyes, dark blonde hair styled effortlessly.

"I'm Dale Dewin. Call me Dale. Shall we?" He extended a hand, and Hermione clutched it gently, as they made their way towards the restaurant which Ginny had picked for them on Diagon Alley.

"You can call me Hermione."

"Nice to meet you, Hermione. I've heard that you just moved into a new job today. How is it?"

Excited at having been asked to share her thoughts about her new job, she walked with a bounce in her step, chatting freely the rest of the way.

Dale was the perfect listener, asking questions which made her think and throwing in comments which had her almost jumping in eagerness. "I was given two cases to begin my work with. They're relatively easy, nothing big. It's just to start me off, and get my mind back into the right state."

At this, Dale let out a deep, soothing laugh, "I'm sure your mind is always in the right state, Hermione." He turned to her, his amusement still visible on his face with upturned lips and twinkling eyes.

Frowning, she wondered aloud, "I've been rambling, haven't I? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bore you, I was just really excited about what I hope to achieve in my new job, and how wonderful it would be to be able to work with Harry and Ron again, and…" Hermione trailed off, a blush tinting her cheeks as she realised that she was rambling, yet again.

"I don't mind. My mind is being stimulated just by listening to you speak. Ah, here we are. Tessia's Restaurant for Magical Folks." He pulled open the doors, gesturing for Hermione to enter first.

Hermione thanked Dale, and stepped into the upper-class restaurant. While they waited to be seated, she looked up at Dale, "Nevertheless, I really do want to know more about you. Ginny told me you were a potioneer?"

As he was about to reply, a cheerful witch approached them with two menus in her arms. "Mr Dewin and Miss Granger, this way please." She led them to a small table for two, next to a bay window which was charmed to make it appear as though they were not underground, but rather above the ground with a breathtaking view of a starry night sky.

The waitress left them with the menu, and walked away to tend to other customers.

"Yes, I'm a potioneer. Mostly, I brew the standard healing potions for St Mungo's, but I also constantly work to improve these potions and develop new ones for illnesses which do not yet have a cure. The Ministry of Magic needs a potioneer to brew some potions too, and so I help with that."

Hermione noted to herself that Ginny had really done a wonderful job this time in finding her a date. Dale was not only looks, but he was obviously a highly skilled wizard to be able to invent his own potions, as well as a highly respected potioneer to be trusted to brew potions for organisations as prominent as St Mungo's and the Ministry itself.

"Would you work with the Auror and Law Enforcement departments to brew Veritasium when they need it for interrogations?"

"Once every year, yes. But they don't use Veritasium nearly as much as they did back when the war had just ended, and so one batch a year is enough to ensure that they don't use expired potions."

Hermione had completely forgotten about the menu she was supposed to be looking through, completely absorbed in the conversation.

"Veritasium's an extremely challenging potion! Only the most skilled potioneers can brew it properly. And if yours only expire after a year, you must be one of the best potioneers in the world!"

"Not as good as you, surely. I would never have been able to brew a perfect Polyjuice Potion in second year."

Blushing as she remembered her not-so-successful use of a perfect potion, she reminded him of the fact. Shaking his head, Dale claimed that anyone would make the same mistake, and besides, she did still brew a perfect potion.

"Take a look at their menu, Hermione. I've been here once before and I still remember how delicious everything tasted. I'm sure it won't disappoint you."

Looking around, Hermione blinked a few times before realising that they were indeed in a restaurant, and one generally went into a restaurant to eat. Hurriedly, she picked up her forgotten menu, and selected some particularly mouth-watering sounding dishes.

After the waitress had come and taken their orders, Hermione continued the conversation with Dale, feeling truly entertained by all that Dale had to say.

When the night came to an end, Hermione reluctantly parted with Dale, and they promised each other to owl and set a next date soon.

* * *

 **A/N: So… I'm back! With a slightly longer chapter, but I know it doesn't come close to making up for my long, long, time of not updating. I just checked, and it's been exactly a year and a day since my last update. I'm sorry, guys! Don't hate me, and please leave a review. It really encourages me!**

 **CharmHex01**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

 **A/N: A huge thank you for Hazel Abberely, gurmun, Dauntlessgirl347, Msmalloryreads, KitsukeHikari and dramione4ever, who have either reviewed, favourited, or followed this story.**

 **To the guest review: I promise you, this will become Dramione… eventually. I don't know when, and it depends on how long I decide to make this story, but it's going to happen, I swear. Also, I'm sure I'll be able to wield in a Hogwarts visit somewhere in this long-winded story.**

 **Thanks for the suggestions (I will try my best to incorporate them), and the support!**

 **Disclaimer: Everything you recognise from the Harry Potter universe is not mine.**

 **This chapter: Draco meets Dale.**

 **CharmHex01**

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Draco threw a handful of Floo powder into the small fireplace in the living room, and stepped into the flames, pronouncing "St Mungo's" as clearly as he could while fighting down the urge to cough at the sensation of using the Floo. As convenient as it was, and as many times as he had used it, Draco did not think he could ever become accustomed to the unpleasant feeling similar to being dumped into a box of ashes and dust.

At least he had mastered the landing, and was one of the only ones who walked out of the many fireplaces in the St Mungo's entrance hall without stumbling out in an uncoordinated mess.

He was a Malfoy, after all, and although they may have fallen in society, a Malfoy would never be caught in public as anything other graceful and elegant.

He made his way up to his office on the fourth floor, where he could be stationed near patients who needed him for the field he specialised in, Spell Damage. Being a high-ranking healer came with benefits in the office. Draco's office was private, and he had the space that lower-ranking healers would have to share between two.

Sitting down at his desk, he rummaged through the files in his draw until he found 'Stanton, Launcelot'. Although all files were constantly magically updated with the patient's current condition, Healers were required to check through the information as soon as they could, just in case. After all, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Although Draco had done his best to remove the curse in Launcelot Stanton, he had been unable to do so without knowing what exactly the curse was, and what it did. In the end, he could only stem the spread of the curse.

Before doing anything, Draco had to investigate the nature of the curse, and then hopefully find an antidote to eliminate the effects of the curse in the body before pulling it out. He could remove the curse now, but it would be fatal, as everything that the curse was currently affecting would also be damaged in the process.

As the curse appeared to be causing bouts of insanity, Draco could not remove the curse now, without leaving the man brain-dead or brain-damaged in some way. The head Healer at St Mungo's had created a small team to help Mr Stanton, and had named Draco as the Healer-in-charge for this case.

Today, after lunch, Draco would be meeting his team, which he had been told was comprised of people who were the best of their fields. He hoped so, because he really wanted to prove to Mr Stanton that he was not just an ex-Death Eater working to eradicate all Muggle-borns and blood-traitors, and he also wanted to show himself that he was a useful member of this magical community, that the accusations made against him almost every day were false.

When it was almost eleven, Draco gathered the Mr Stanton's file, and some files of patients who suffered from a similar curse, and made his way up to the fifth floor, where there were several conference rooms. By the time he arrived at the room, there were only a few minutes left until eleven, and there was only one person who was already there.

"Good morning, I'm Healer Draco Malfoy, the Healer-in-charge for this case."

The woman was clearly in the later part of her life, with a few limp strands of discoloured hair hanging onto her scalp. Brown eyes were framed by wrinkled and mottled skin, but were bright nonetheless, and a jovial smile lit up her face.

Stretching her hand over the table, she grasped Draco's firmly and introduced herself, "Elizabeth Gwinston. Pleasure to meet you, Healer Malfoy. Old Dan came up to me the other day and asked me to be the head researcher for this case."

"Please, just call me Draco. I've read a lot of your work, Ms Gwinston, all very insightful and helpful information. I'm honoured to be working with you. We should just be waiting on one more person and then we can start our first meeting."

At that moment, a young man, around Draco's age walked into the room, apologising for being late, although he was actually on time. He shook both Draco's and Gwinston's hands, introducing himself as Dale Dewin, the head potioneer for the Stanton case.

After Dale had settled into a seat next to Draco, with pleasantries out of the way, Draco was left with the task of giving them a brief rundown of Stanton's condition, and handed each person a copy of the magically updating file.

Draco made a mental note to thank the head Healer – Healer Daniel Hunter – for teaming him up with people who he would work well with, and who didn't grind against his nerves with idiotic and unhelpful comments. Elizabeth, as old as she was, had not lost her sense of humour, and added with her highly useful experience with dark curses, was very refreshing to be around. Draco had already learnt a dozen new healing techniques, more effective spells, and other bits of information which the elderly lady had shared.

Draco also found that he got along very well with the potioneer, Dale. Dale was intelligent, and as skilled with potions as Draco had become with healing. While he generally carried around a light air of cheeriness, Draco liked him as he was no overly so and able to be suitably solemn when needed.

All in all, Draco was very content with the small group he was to work with for possibly the next few months, as they worked together to solve what they now referred to as simply the 'Stanton Case', and looked forward to getting to know both Elizabeth and Dale better.

By the end of the meeting, they had sorted out a plan of what each person should be looking into, as well as developed multiple theories as to how to remove the curse, which would be discussed at the next meeting.

As they gathered their paperwork into their bags, Dale spoke up, "When would you be free to hold the next meeting?"

Draco shrugged, "We can make it next week, and I can clear up my timetable anytime."

"Great!" Dale turned to Elizabeth, who had already whisked everything away with a neat little swish of her wand, "Is Tuesday after lunch alright with you?"

Elizabeth nodded, a benevolent smile forever lingering on her face as she made her way towards the door slowly. "This meeting room again?"

Draco responded this time, "I'm sure we can fit into my office, and leave this room for larger teams. Just Floo in after lunch and we'll figure out what we've got."

Dale and Elizabeth nodded, and after bidding each other farewell, left the room, followed closely by Draco. Draco made his way towards his own office, stepping through just as the Floo activated and Healer Hunter's head appeared through the flames.

"Healer Malfoy – your presence is required at Hogsmeade Main Street. A few Death Eaters tried to get into Hogwarts. They obviously weren't very bright ones, but they seem to be decent duellers. Aurors were called there a few minutes ago to try and capture them, but you're needed in case someone gets injured."

Draco nodded, grabbing his Healer robes from the chair, and strapping his healing kit over his shoulder.

"Are there any anti-Apparition wards placed?"

The head in the flame shook a 'no' before disappearing, and Draco clutched his wand as he focused on his location, before turning on the spot and Apparating with a small 'pop'. When he arrived, he saw that there was one other Healer stationed on the main road, while several others appeared to be levitating the injured to her.

Draco hurried to set up a temporary healing station. It was really just a green sheet which Draco placed on the ground, and a small conjured table which the most commonly used potions was lined up neatly on.

Immediately after he had removed the last potion from his satchel, an unconscious Auror was levitated carefully on the green sheet, and Draco quickly worked on him. None of the injuries appeared to be anything major, so Draco could deduct that these Death Eaters were probably some of the very insignificant ones which You-Know-Who had mass-recruited as he prepared for the final battle against the Boy-Who-Lived. They were not very skilled, and had most likely not been taught the Dark curses which You-Know-Who liked to share amongst his closer followers. However, if they were still willingly fighting for the Dark Lord even after his death, they must have been loyal supporters to his cause.

They had the chance to be free from charges, if they had not been involved in the Dark Arts, but yet they chose to support a cause which was beyond hope, and more importantly, twisted and clearly wrong. They had the choice to not continue to follow You-Know-Who and live a free life. After all, they had become Death Eaters just before the end, so were hardly known for their involvement with the Dark side. In fact, many of them had claimed to be coerced following the conclusion of the war, but others had escaped unnoticed, still firm believers of Pureblood supremacy.

It was these people who caused the Ministry the most trouble. As they had not been in anything as a Death Eater, other than the hectic Battle of Hogwarts, the Ministry and Aurors could not name them, and even if they were walking down the streets, no-one could know that they were Death Eaters on the loose unless they showed someone their Dark Mark. But even if that happened, they could easily pass off as one of the many who were recruited last-minute, but were pardoned by the Ministry as being coerced, and continue on their merry way.

It was simply impossible to figure out who they were, and even interrogations using Veritasium proved to be useless, as those who were captured also generally knew very little about those minor Death Eaters on the loose. All they could do was wait for one, or more, to attack, and then hope to capture some. There really seemed to be no way to completely eradicate the threat of Dark supporters on the loose.

And that was exactly why they hired Hermione Granger – the Brightest Witch of the Age – to help them. Surely, the pesky Death Eaters could not be smarter than the great Hermione Granger. After all, she was indeed the brains which brought about Voldemort's demise, and Voldemort was the darkest wizard anyone had seen.

Although admittedly, the problem lay with actually identifying who the culprits were, rather than defeating them. There had been no problem with realising who the enemy was in Voldemort's case. But the Ministry remained confident that Hermione Granger would be the one to finally make a breakthrough in a case which had most basically no progress since it began five years ago.

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 **A/N: So there's not much interaction between anyone in the chapter, and nothing much happens. But most of my chapters seem to be filler chapters where nothing much happens. Oh well, we'll see where we go.**

 **Next chapter should be more interaction between Dale and Hermione, as well as Dale and Draco.**

 **While we wait (hopefully not for a year) for the next update, please take some time to review! I would really feel honoured. Also tell me what you think about Dale Dewin. He's my first OC, so tell me if perhaps the character development is lacking, or something.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **CharmHex01**


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